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Oxford posts of the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans and the Veterans of Foreign Wars will host a fundraiser at their "hut" to complete Veterans Memorial Park.
The park is built on a small stretch of land donated by Lafayette County. It sits on Veterans Drive between South Lamar Boulevard and state Highway 7 South, next to the hut and across the street from the Mississippi State Veterans Home.
Both the county and the city of Oxford, along with scores of individuals and several organizations, have contributed time, talent and treasure to the park's construction.
"We've got the gazebo up, the pavilion with bathrooms is completed, and the flagpole is up," said Russ Fisher, commander of American Legion Post 55.
Trees and sod have been planted, too, and a large brick sign has been completed. Curbing has been constructed to define the parking lot, though the lot is still surfaced in gravel.
"There's a party that's donating the concrete," Fisher said. "We've just got to raise the money for the finishing work."
The steel fence across the park's front is the Eagle-rank project of Boy Scout John Ray Sockwell.
Today's fundraiser will start at 9 a.m. with registration for a classic and antique car show.
Musicians, including Elvis Presley and Hank Williams Jr. tribute artists, will perform from about 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., followed by an auction. Throughout the day, veterans will sell hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecue and soft drinks.
The event also will be a chance for people to buy engraved bricks in honor or memory of a loved one. The bricks will form a 12-foot circle around the flagpole near the park's center. Four-by-eight bricks with two lines of 16 characters each can be sponsored at $100; 8-by-8, with four lines each, are $200.
Contact Errol Castens at (662) 281-1069 or errol.castens@djournal.com.
- For more information on the memorial or to make a donation, call (662) 513-0402, visit
vmpoxfordms.freeoda.com, or write to Russ Fisher at 305 Woodland Hills Drive, Oxford, MS 38655.